james Archive

The world’s largest lithium ion battery has begun dispensing power into an electricity grid in South Australia. The 100-megawatt battery, built by Tesla, was officially activated on Friday. It had in fact provided some power since Thursday due to demand caused by local hot weather. South Australia has been crippled by electricity problems in recent

The boss of Fortnum and Mason says the Brexit vote has damaged the UK’s brand. Ewan Venters told the BBC the store was suffering European staff shortages due to the vote with 16 of its 80 chef positions currently unfilled. He said Brexit had made European workers worry about their welcome and the lower pound

RBS is closing 259 branches – one in four of its outlets – and cutting 680 jobs as more customers bank online. The closures involve 62 Royal Bank of Scotland and 197 NatWest branches. RBS, which is 71%-owned by the taxpayer, said it would try to ensure compulsory redundancies were “kept to an absolute minimum”.

UK manufacturing activity grew at its fastest pace in more than four years last month, according to a closely watched survey. The Purchasing Managers’ Index index compiled by IHS/Markit hit 58.2 in November, the best level in 51 months. The report said exports played a “big part” in the expansion. Separate official data showed that

Australian surf wear brand Billabong has received a takeover bid from rival Quiksilver which values the company at around $150m (£110m). It could be a lifeline for the troubled firm, which has only turned a profit in one of the last five years. Billabong suffered a $58m (£43m) wipeout this year, which was triple its